


New Beginnings

by josiesbar



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Humor, Karedevil Bingo, Romance, post-season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25601704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/josiesbar/pseuds/josiesbar
Summary: This takes place shortly after season 3. Nelson, Murdock, and Page begin their new law firm. Karen struggles with her feelings for Matt and guilt over past events.
Relationships: Franklin "Foggy" Nelson & Marci Stahl, Matt Murdock/Karen Page
Comments: 31
Kudos: 41
Collections: Karedevil Bingo





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A later chapter of this will fulfill the Karedevil Bingo prompt "lasagna."

As Karen walked into the new office of Nelson, Murdock, and Page, she had trouble thinking of it as their office. After all, it was the cluttered back office of Theo's shop and didn't really feel much like a law office at all. 

Well, not yet, at least, Karen thought. They would get it to look like their office soon enough, and then, hopefully a real office of their own wouldn't be too far off. 

Looking around at the boxes brought back memories of moving into their first office. After all, Karen had been there at the beginning of Nelson and Murdock as well. And now, whenever they finally got an official sign, it would read Nelson, Murdock, and Page. 

Karen smiled. As much as she enjoyed working at the Bulletin, she was really looking forward to working with Matt and Foggy again. There was something special about working with close friends. She still remembered all the crazy conversations they had and all those nights hanging out at Josie's. 

Of course, she remembered the way it all fell apart, too. There was no reason to think that would happen now, though. Now that everyone was being honest (well, Matt and Karen, since it wasn't like Foggy had a problem with honesty in the first place), lies wouldn't tear them apart again. Karen wouldn't have to wonder where Matt's bruises came from, and Foggy wouldn't have to come up with excuses for Matt anymore. Karen still felt terrible that Foggy had to spend so much time lying to her. 

And Karen wouldn’t have to feel guilty anymore about hiding what she had done to Wesley and what had happened to her brother. Matt and Foggy knew the truth now. However, Karen wasn’t sure her guilt over killing Wesley and causing the accident that killed Kevin would ever go away. And she wasn’t sure it should. 

"Hi Karen," Foggy said as he walked into the office, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Ready for your first official day at Nelson, Murdock, and Page? Or really, a day of unpacking, I guess. Reminds me of the old office. I didn't think we would ever get all those boxes unpacked, and we didn't have nearly this much stuff."

Karen smiled. "Yeah, I was just thinking about that. You guys were so lucky to have me there to help you unpack."

Foggy laughed. "Yeah, but you claimed you were going to work for free and then insisted on getting paid."

"I'm not going to make any claims about working for free this time," Karen said. "I'm fully planning to collect a paycheck."

"Yeah, hopefully we will actually get clients and be able to pay ourselves soon," Foggy said.

"Foggy, are you sure about this?" Karen asked. "Hogarth might still take you back if you've changed your mind. Those paychecks are going to be a lot smaller here, at least for awhile."

"Yeah, I feel like this is the right thing to do," Foggy said. "And it will be really nice working with you guys again. There's just something special about working with your best friends."

Karen smiled. "I was just thinking the same thing."

"I agree. There's nothing like working with friends." Matt was standing in the doorway as if they needed to invite him in. 

"So, Matt, are you going to help us unpack or what?" Foggy said.

Matt smiled, and Karen felt a familiar swirl of feelings rise up. It made sense for those old feelings to resurface, she thought. After all, they were back to working together again, and that would naturally bring back familiar feelings. It didn't mean anything, though. That was in the past, and it was time to look to the future. Which was, of course, just being friends. 

"I suppose I could help unpack," Matt said, setting his cane to the side and starting to go through one of the boxes. 

Despite having all that time of barely talking to each other after Nelson and Murdock fell apart and especially after Matt's "death", they were oddly silent as they all worked on unpacking the many boxes. It was almost as if they were afraid that if they talked too much, they would discover that they didn't want to do this after all. That everything could fall apart again just by saying the wrong things. 

The silence was starting to get to Karen, so she tried to come up with something to say. "So, I was thinking that we should make a website."

"A website?" Foggy said. "We haven't even unpacked yet."

“Yes, but we need to find a way to bring in new clients beyond just word of mouth," Karen said. "I figure that I could just make us a free basic site and then social media accounts so that we can spread the word more about our new office."

"Social media, too?" Matt said. 

"It took us days just to have a working phone last time," Foggy said. "Now we're going to be on Facebook? Speaking of which, I need to get us a separate phone line from the shop. Theo would probably prefer not to have to field all of our calls once we have lots of clients."

"That would probably be a good idea," Matt agreed.

"Well, the site and the social media don't have to be ready right away, but I think it would be a good idea to start promoting the firm sooner rather than later," Karen said. "And that's an easy way to do it."

"I don't know the first thing about social media, though," Foggy said. "My mom is still annoyed that I refuse to get on Facebook. I told her that I see Uncle Jim enough. I don't need to see a picture of every single thing he orders at the deli. She was telling me that he posted a really great picture of a ham sandwich. Why would I need to give all of my information to Facebook so that I can look at photos of ham sandwiches?"

Matt laughed. That was a nice sound, Karen thought. She wondered how long Matt went without laughing at all.

Karen smiled. "Well, we're not going to post any photos of sandwiches. Actually, we probably won't post that much at first. I just want to get it set up. I got used to being on Facebook and Twitter while I was working at the Bulletin."

"You have a Twitter account?" Matt said. "I didn't know that."

"I didn't either," Foggy said. "What are you posting on there?"

"Just news article links, mostly," Karen said. "And it's a pain sometimes, with all the trolls. I don't think we will have that many trolls, though."

Matt frowned. "Have you had many trolls bothering you?" 

Karen shrugged. "Sometimes. Some people don't like my opinion, and they let me know by calling me names online."

"And you still want to make us a Twitter account?" Foggy said.

"Yes, because it would be Nelson, Murdock, and Page, not my personal account," Karen said. "Anyway, it's just an idea."

"Well, I don't have a problem with it if you want to do it," Matt said. "Do you, Foggy?"

"No, I think it's fine if you want to battle with the dastardly trolls of Twitter for us," Foggy said.

Karen laughed. "It's not that bad. Anyway, I'll get those set up later this week. I figure that now is a good time to do that since we won't have many clients yet."

"Yeah, we should probably get some clients," Foggy said. "I figure that we can start contacting some of our old ones first to let them know that we are open for business. Though I should probably mention that we won't be able to accept apple pies or brownies for payment. Sadly, those don't pay bills."

"At least we won't have to worry about our electricity being turned off," Matt said. "It was nice of your brother to let us use this office."

"Yeah, it was," Karen said. "Won't Theo miss it at all?"

Foggy shrugged. "He was just using it as storage. He found a storage space instead, so we can stay here as long as we need to. Which hopefully won't be too long. I'm hoping for a nicer office this time around."

"It probably still won't be as nice as Hogarth's," Karen said. "You had some fancy furniture over there."

"And bagels?" Matt said with a smile.

Foggy laughed. "Yeah, not every day, though."

Karen frowned. "Bagels?"

Now Foggy and Matt both laughed. 

"Landman and Zack had bagels every morning," Matt said. "That was what Foggy missed the most about working there."

"Hey, you can't tell me you didn't miss the bagels, too," Foggy said.

"They did have good bagels," Matt said. "They got them from that bakery on the corner. Is that place still open?"

Foggy shook his head. "No, sadly, we will never have those bagels again."

"Well, they just would have reminded us of Landman and Zack," Matt said.

"Yeah, that was why I never stopped to get them on the way to our old office," Foggy said. "Well, and they were ridiculously expensive. Which is probably why that place went out of business."

"We'll have to find ourselves a new bagel place," Karen said.

"There's that bakery about a block down that just opened," Foggy said.

"Well, tomorrow's mission can be checking out the new bakery," Matt said. 

"We deserve it after all of the hard work unpacking today," Foggy said. "We're almost through, and we had way more stuff than last time."

Foggy gestured to the now-empty boxes. They had been impressively productive. 

"We definitely deserve it," Karen agreed. "And maybe we can even start getting out the word about Nelson, Murdock, and Page."

"You're such a go-getter," Foggy said. "And, obviously, this evening we have to go to Josie's."

"Oh, Josie's," Matt said. "It's been such a long time since I've been there."

"Yeah, it's been awhile for me, too," Foggy said.

Karen smiled. It was so nice to be standing here chatting with Matt and Foggy again. There was no doubt in her mind that working with them was the right thing to do. 

"Yes, I think we definitely need to go to Josie's."


	2. Chapter 2

"It's great being back here, isn't it?" Matt said.

"Yeah, it really is," Foggy said. "There's no place quite like Josie's."

"So all the swankier bars you've been going to lately just haven't compared to Josie's?" Karen asked.

"Nah, I mean the drinks might technically be better, but this place just feels more like home, you know?" Foggy looked around fondly.

Karen looked around, too. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed this place. As she looked around, she saw so many familiar faces. It was amazing just how little Josie's changed. There was Josie, looking grouchy as usual as she handed somebody a drink. Karen had met and chatted with so many of the people here. In fact, some had been clients at Nelson and Murdock.

In a crazy, changing world, somehow Josie's felt like it was frozen in time. It looked just the way it had when Foggy had "saved the best for last" and introduced Karen to this place that night. Karen giggled as she remembered "drinking the eel" with Foggy.

"What?" Foggy said, looking back at Karen.

"Oh, I was just remembering drinking the eel," Karen said, still laughing. It felt so good to laugh again.

Foggy laughed, too. "Oh, my God, the eel. That was great. We should ask Josie for another bottle of that."

Matt frowned. "What eel?"

"Wait...we never told you about the eel?" Karen said. 

"I could swear we told you about that," Foggy said. "Although maybe I was just thinking that because we spent all that time knocking on your door and yelling. Of course, we didn't realize you weren't home then."

"We woke up your poor neighbor," Karen said. "I'm not sure if she's ever forgiven us."

"When was this?" Matt asked.

"Oh, it was that first night when I called you and left a message that Karen and I were going out, and I was going to introduce her to Josie's."

"Oh, that's right," Matt said. "You never told me about the eel, though."

"Clearly we're going to have to do that again with all three of us," Karen said. "It's so sad that Matt has missed out on this experience."

Josie came over then and brought the pitcher of beer they ordered. 

"Here's your beer," Josie said. "Now I'm not starting any more tabs for you just because you're starting Nelson and Murdock back up."

“Nelson, Murdock, and Page," Matt corrected her.

"No tabs?" Foggy said, shaking his head. "Josie, aren't you happy to see us back here?"

Josie gave him a look. "No tabs," she repeated.

"Alright, I suppose we will survive," Foggy said. "But, more importantly, Josie, do you have a bottle with an eel? Matt has yet to drink an eel."

Now both Karen and Matt were laughing. 

"I really don't need to drink an eel, Josie," Matt said.

Josie just rolled her eyes and walked back to the bar.

"You're really missing out," Foggy said to Matt. "Next time, we'll get you to drink the eel."

Karen smiled. So much of the feeling of comfort here wasn't just the bar itself. It was being here with Matt and Foggy. Karen remembered trying to come to Josie's alone a few times, and it had just made her feel lonelier than ever. With Matt and Foggy though, just like Foggy said, it felt like home.

"It's so nice being back here," Karen said. "And hanging out with you guys again."

Matt smiled. "Yeah, it is."

That smile still got to Karen. She wondered if Matt could tell that her heart rate picked up a bit. Still, it didn't matter if she had some lingering feelings for him. It had been a disaster the last time they had tried to date. The last thing Karen wanted to do was jeopardize their friendship and the new firm of Nelson, Murdock, and Page. Besides, would Matt even be interested in her anymore with everything he knew about her now?

Karen was pulled out of her thoughts by an old client walking up to their table. 

"Hey Harvey," Foggy said. "How are you doing?"

Harvey Carson had gotten in a fight with his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. They had been able to help him avoid serious jail time.

"I'm not doing great, to be honest," Harvey said. "I heard you guys are starting up the old firm again."

'We are," Matt said. "Wow, word is already getting around."

"How can we help you, Harvey?" Karen asked.

"Well, my neighbor just accused me of stealing his guitar. The thing is, though, it was a gift. Then he got pissed off at me about...well, it doesn't matter anymore. Anyway, now he comes back and accuses me of stealing it."

Karen and Foggy both looked at Matt. He nodded. Having a human lie detector around could definitely be convenient. 

"Well, we are just moving into our new office, but I think we should be able to take that case," Foggy said. "What do you guys think?"

"Sure," Matt said. 

"Yeah," Karen said. 

"Alright, well, Harvey, you get to be our first case at the newly formed Nelson, Murdock, and Page," Foggy said. "I do have to warn you, though, that we can't take food items as payment. No matter how much we pleaded with the electric company, they wouldn't accept our apple pie."

"We will have a sliding fee scale, though," Karen said, "so we will definitely work with you on what you can afford to pay."

"Cool," Harvey said. "I'm really glad you guys are back. Hell's Kitchen hasn't been the same without you. Big firms just don't care the way you guys do."

Matt smiled. "We're glad to be back, too, Harvey."

As Harvey walked back to his table, Karen raised her glass. "You know, I think this deserves a toast. To our first client and our soon-to-be very successful new firm."

"Here, here," Matt and Foggy said as they all clanged glasses.

"It's nice to have a client already," Foggy said. "I have a good feeling about this."

"So do I," Karen said. 

"And I will not ruin everything this time around," Matt said.

Karen sighed. While the firm falling apart was mostly Matt's fault, they really didn't need him focusing on his guilt again as they were getting their new firm started.

"Well, to be fair, letting people pay us in baked goods was going to make it tough to stay open at some point anyway," Foggy said. "And I learned a lot at the firm with Hogarth. Besides, it worked out pretty well for me and Marci."

"Yes, it did," Karen said. "I learned a lot working at the Bulletin, too. What's done is done. This is a fresh start for us."

"Exactly," Foggy said, raising his glass. "So I propose another toast. To fresh starts."

"To fresh starts," Karen and Matt said, clinking glasses.

"Maybe this is just how things were meant to be," Foggy said.

"Yeah, I guess it's like what Father Lantom once told me about life being a tapestry that we can only see from the back," Matt said. "Maybe we needed that time apart."

"And now we're all back together," Karen said. 

"And at Josie's," Foggy said. 

"Yeah, Josie's somehow never seems to change, does it?" Karen said.

"Yeah, hasn't changed much since we first started coming here," Matt said. "It's nice to have some things that are always familiar."

"Good ol' dependable, Josie's," Foggy said. "Well, it looks like that's the end of our pitcher of beer. I suppose we should go pay Josie since we don't get to have a tab anymore."

"Well, she does have the sign up there," Karen said.

Foggy shook his head. "Yeah, and it's probably going to take awhile to convince her to let us have a tab again."

"It's been nice being back here with the two of you," Matt said. "I really missed this."

"Me too," Karen said. "Now we can get back to coming here on a regular basis."

"Definitely," Foggy said. "I'll save a lot of money since I won't be going to that expensive bar anymore. Of course, I also won't be making as much money either."

"Poor Foggy," Matt said. "Those paychecks will seem so small now."

"Yes, but we're our own bosses, so that makes up for it," Foggy said. 

After they paid Josie, they walked out into a rainy night.

"It's really coming down," Foggy said.

"Yeah, it is," Matt said, raising his hand out to feel the rain.

Karen's mind took her back to another rainy night at Josie's. Flirting with Matt. Walking back to his place hand in hand. Feeling the rain on her skin. And that kiss. She would never forget that kiss. She wondered if Matt was thinking the same thing. Did he still think about that night? Karen still had dreams about it occasionally. 

It was the last thing she needed to think about now, though. This was time for a fresh start, not focusing on the past.

"Yeah, I should get home," Karen said, rushing out to hail a cab. "Good night!"

Without a glance back, she hopped in the cab and sighed. It had been a good night. It was so nice to hang out with Foggy and Matt at Josie's again. But she couldn't focus on what Nelson and Murdock used to be, and she definitely couldn't think about her brief relationship with Matt. All of that happened before--before the firm fell apart, before Matt told her his secret, before she told him hers. Things were different now.

The past needed to stay in the past. It was time to focus on their new partnership and what she hoped would be a bright future.

"Nelson, Murdock, and Page," Karen said softly to herself. 

It was nice to feel like an equal with Matt and Foggy at the firm this time. As bad as things had been recently, she did have some real hope for the future.

As long as she didn't get caught up in the past.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a busy week. Karen couldn’t believe it was already Thursday. She had been investigating Harvey's neighbors' claims about stealing and, after questioning a few of his other neighbors, had plenty of evidence that Harvey did not steal the guitar. The neighbor had dropped the charges against Harvey. 

"Wow, our first case was a success," Foggy said as Harvey walked out of their new office. "We're awesome."

Matt smiled. "Well, at least we got a good start."

"And we already have two more cases," Karen said. "A bit better than when Nelson and Murdock first started, right?"

"Our first case was a success there, too," Foggy pointed out. "Speaking of which, are you ever going to make us lasagna again, Karen?"

Karen laughed. "I'll tell you what. I'll make lasagna for both of you and for Marci if you finally propose to her, Foggy."

Matt smiled. "You have mentioned multiple times that you were going to propose to her this week. The week's almost over."

Foggy turned red. "Well, I haven't found the right way to do it yet."

"I thought you already figured it out," Karen said. "Weren't you going to do it at her favorite restaurant?"

"And you already have the ring," Matt said.

Foggy frowned. "Well, what if she says no?"

Karen smiled. "Foggy, she's not going to say no!"

"You don't know that for sure," Foggy said.

"I thought Marci already said that she would marry you," Matt said.

Foggy continued to look concerned. "But what if she changed her mind?"

Karen and Matt both shook their heads.

"Foggy, just take her out and ask her tonight," Karen said.

"If nothing else, do it so that Karen makes us her famous lasagna again," Matt said.

Karen laughed. "I don't know about famous."

Matt smiled and Karen felt her heart flutter. Sigh. She still couldn’t resist that smile. She wondered if Matt had heard her heart flutter. He probably had. She hadn't spent this much time around him on a regular basis since she had found out about his senses. It was hard not to feel a little self-conscious. 

"Well, it should be," Matt said. "It's excellent lasagna."

"It really is," Foggy agreed. "Alright, guys, I will make a reservation for tomorrow night."

Karen smiled as Foggy called the restaurant. She was really happy for Foggy and Marci. She couldn't think of anyone who deserved happiness more than Foggy.

"Okay, I've done it," Foggy said.

"Now don't forget the ring," Matt said.

"Yes, the ring is important," Karen said.

"I will not forget the ring,"Foggy said. "I am so nervous, though."

"It will be fine, Foggy," Karen said. "Marci is very lucky to have you, and I think she knows it."

As Karen headed home from the office, she thought about that first time they had had her lasagna.

She had felt so alone, sitting there in that police station. She had thought that maybe this was her punishment for her brother's death. She was finally getting what she deserved, even if this time she was innocent.

Then Matt and Foggy walked in, and her whole life changed. They were the closest friends she had had in a long time. In Matt's case, for a very short time, he was more than a friend. 

She hadn't really known the role they would play in her life when she had served them her grandmother's lasagna. Thinking about her grandmother brought back happy memories from her childhood. Laughing with her grandmother and her mother at the dinner table. Her grandmother's insistence that she serve it only to her future husband. Her mother whispering to her that she had served it to men who didn't become her husband. 

God, how she missed them. Her grandmother's death had been difficult enough for her, but her mother's death not too long after had devastated her. She and her mother had been so close. She had never been that close to her father. After her mother had died, she had felt so lost. And it had led to so many terrible things, including Kevin's death.

She looked around at the little shops and restaurants and apartment buildings. What would her mother think of Karen living in New York? Of what she was doing with her life now? Her mother had loved New York. Or, at least, she had loved visiting here. It had just been one touristy trip. Going to a Broadway show. Taking pictures from the top of the Empire State Building. Walking around and gawking at the tall buildings and marveling at the sheer number and variety of shops and restaurants.

Her mother's love of New York from that trip was one of the things that brought Karen to New York. It had been an escape of sorts, too, yet another attempt to run away from herself and her guilt. But it had also been a way to feel a little bit closer to her mother.

As Karen walked into her apartment building, her phone buzzed. A text from Ellison. 

"Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow night around 6? I promise I won't try to set you up with my nephew again."

Karen smiled. It would be nice to spend some time with Ellison and his family again. 

"Sure, I would love to," Karen texted back. 

As she walked back into her apartment, she realized that at the very least, she felt a little bit less lonely now. She had Matt and Foggy back in her life, and Ellison was still willing to be friends with her after what happened at the Bulletin.

She cringed as she thought about the shooting. The gun being taken out of her hands by a man dressed as someone she trusted. All those ringing cell phones with no one to answer them. All that blood on her hands.

So much blood on her hands lately, Karen thought. She remembered her grief and guilt at Ben's funeral and swore she would never let anything like that happen again.

But then the Bulletin shooting. And the church. God, Father Lantom. Tears filled her eyes. Why did he have to try to protect her? Why did Karen have to live while so many around her died?

She sat down on her couch and felt exhausted, as she often did when she let herself feel the guilt. When she didn't run from it.

Finally, Karen got up. She needed to talk to someone, and she knew exactly the right person to talk to.

A half hour later, Karen was waiting as Sister Maggie lectured a few children who had broken the rules. She smiled as the children looked down at the floor and said they were sorry. 

"Alright, now, head back to your room," Sister Maggie said to the boys. 

She turned to Karen. "Well, hopefully those boys will stay out of trouble for a few days, at least. What would you like to talk about, Karen?"

"Well, I've just ... I've been feeling so guilty lately about the people who died because of me. Father Lantom, in particular. I'm just not sure I deserved that kind of sacrifice from him."

Sister Maggie put a hand on Karen's arm. "You know, it's funny, how alike you and Matt are in some ways."

Karen raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" 

Sister Maggie nodded. "Both of you spend so much time feeling guilty and thinking that you don't deserve other people caring about you. But it's not true in either case. You both deserve to live and give and love, and I know you're not very religious, Karen, but I believe God has a plan for you, just as he has a plan for everybody."

"Mmm ... maybe," Karen said, though she still had trouble believing that. "I just ... you know, my brother died because of me. I was driving, and I was high, and I crashed the car ... and I killed him. How could anyone forgive something like that?"

Sister Maggie looked at her kindly. "I think the biggest question, Karen, is can you forgive yourself?"

Karen smiled. "Matt said something similar."

Sister Maggie smiled. "Well, good to know he listens a little bit, at least, even if it's just to give advice to someone else and not take it himself."

"Thank you for listening to me, Sister Maggie," Karen said. "It's nice that I can talk to you."

"I'm always here," Sister Maggie said. "You can tell Matt that, too. It would be nice to see him once in awhile. Speaking of self-forgiveness, I don't always have the easiest time with that myself. So I suppose I shouldn’t talk about Matt not taking his own advice."

"I guess self-forgiveness is the hardest," Karen said.

"Yes, I think it is," Sister Maggie said. "Well, we will both keep working on it."

As Karen walked, she thought about what Sister Maggie had said. How could she forgive herself, though, when she had been the cause of so much pain and suffering? Where would she even start?

A police car, sirens blazing, sped by. She thought about Matt. Was he out there right now, saving people and beating up criminals?

It was hard not to worry about him a bit. She knew he could take care of himself, but still, she had seen him injured before. Sometimes she wondered how he was even still alive. She cringed as she thought of that impostor in his suit nearly killing him.

His suit. That red suit certainly had more protection than the black pajamas.

Not that that black suit didn't show off certain ... assets ... well. She could see him that first time in the rain. She had to admit, thinking about Matt flipping around in the rain had taken her mind off her guilt. 

Regardless of how nice he might look in that black suit, though, he needed better protection. She thought about the padding she had felt under her hands that time she had been kidnapped by the Hand. It seemed so strange now that she didn't know who he was then. She remembered him touching her cheek. Maybe she should have figured it out. That was a crazy time, though. Nelson and Murdock ending, a new job, Frank, getting kidnapped ... It had all been pretty overwhelming. At least he finally told her the truth.

She wondered where he had gotten that red suit. She was pretty sure he didn't go to the department store and buy it. She decided to talk to him about it the next day.

With that thought, she walked into her apartment, flopped on the couch, and turned on the TV. 

That night, she dreamed of the man in black flipping around in the rain.


	4. Chapter 4

As Karen walked into the office, she could tell that she had a good reason to worry about Matt. He had clear injuries that he couldn't really hide with the suit. 

"Oh Matt," Karen said.

"It's nothing," Matt said, but he cringed as he rose from his chair. 

"You know, I've been thinking, didn't that red suit provide more protection for you?" Karen asked. 

"Yeah, it did," Matt said, sighing. "But the man who made it for me is in prison, and that's kind of my fault."

"Well, is there anything we can do to help him?" Karen asked. "I mean, this is a law firm, after all."

"Well, maybe," Matt said. "If you and Foggy are okay with it. His name is Melvin Potter. He used to work for Fisk, but only because Fisk was threatening Betsy, his girlfriend. I promised to protect Betsy if he would make me a suit. But Fisk got to Melvin again, and he made that suit for Poindexter. Are you sure you would be okay with helping him?"

"Of course I want to help him," Karen said. "I'm sure Foggy will, too."

"I'll what?" Foggy asked as he walked in. He was beaming.

"Oh, did you ask Marci?" Karen asked.

Foggy smiled. "Yep. And she said yes."

Karen and Matt both smiled. 

"Oh, Foggy, I'm so happy for you!" Karen ran up and hugged him. 

"I'm happy for you, too, Foggy," Matt said, giving Foggy a hug as well.

"Yeah, we're going to have an engagement party next Friday at our place," Foggy said. "You'll both be there, right?"

"Of course," Matt and Karen said at the same time.

Foggy smiled. "Good. And are you going to make lasagna for us, Karen?"

"Yes, do you all want to come over for dinner tomorrow?" Karen asked. "It'll be my first dinner party. Well, not really much of a dinner party since there are only four of us, but close enough."

"Wow, we haven't had your lasagna since those first days at the old office," Matt said. "I remember it being pretty good."

"Yeah, it wasn't bad," Foggy said.

Karen smiled. "Well, I hope it lives up to your memories."

"So, what was it you guys wanted to ask me?" Foggy asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you would be okay with us helping out the man who made my Daredevil suit," Matt said a bit nervously. "He's in prison, which is partially my fault, or really, mostly my fault."

Matt told Foggy about Melvin Potter working for Fisk to protect Betsy. 

"Really, in a lot of ways, he's another victim of Fisk," Karen said. "So it makes sense to help him anyway. Plus, Matt is a lot safer when he wears that costume instead of black pajamas."

"True," Foggy agreed, looking at Matt's bruises. "The black pajamas don't provide much protection. And I agree, Karen. I definitely know what it feels like to be stuck in a bad situation with Fisk now, after the way he got to me through my family. We should definitely help Melvin."

Matt smiled. "Good."

"Well, in the meantime, we have two appointments this morning," Karen said. "Business is really picking up already."

"Good to see that word of mouth is spreading," Matt said. "And, of course, the website you did for us has helped, too, Karen."

"Well, we haven't gotten that much traffic yet," Karen said. "But it helps us look more professional, if nothing else."

The rest of the day went by quickly, and before Karen knew it, it was time to head over to Ellison's place.

"Don't forget to come over tomorrow for lasagna," Karen said to Matt and Foggy.

"Oh, we won't," Matt said.

"I definitely won't forget the lasagna," Foggy said.

Karen smiled and thought about the busy weekend she had ahead. Dinner with Ellison and his family tonight. Lasagna with Matt, Foggy, and Marci tomorrow. It was nice to have friends. To finally allow herself to have friends.

When she got to Ellison's house, Ellison gave her a hug, and she could feel the warmth from his family just like the last time she had been here. Lily Ellison gave her a hug, too. There wasn't any awkwardness despite the tragedy at the Bulletin or Ellison firing her. It just felt like they had gone through all of that together and were now both in the process of healing.

"I'm glad you could come over, Karen," Ellison said.

"Thanks for having me."

“You’re always welcome here, Karen,” Lily said. 

The dinner was delicious as always, and they settled into comfortable chit-chat just as they always did when Karen worked at the Bulletin.

"So, Karen, how are you liking it at your new legal job? Are they giving you much to do? You're not stuck just being a secretary again, are you?'

Karen shook her head. "No, I'm getting some good investigative work. I'm still doing some administrative things, but we're all splitting those up, so I'm not mainly just sitting there answering the phone. Foggy even mentioned getting a receptionist eventually once we're really successful."

Karen smiled. It was nice to think of them in a nice office, genuinely being a successful firm.

"I'm glad to hear it," Ellison said. "Do you miss it, though? Working at the Bulletin?"

"Of course," Karen said. "I loved being a reporter. I miss writing. I'm liking my new job, though, too."

"Well, what would you think about doing some freelance writing for us?" Ellison asked. "I'm sure you're busy at the firm, but it might be some nice extra money. And a chance to still get some writing done and see everyone at the Bulletin once in awhile."

Karen smiled. "Yeah, that would be great, Ellison! I'd love to do some freelance work for you."

"Great," Ellison said. "I was hoping you would say that, because I have a story that I don't want to give to any other reporter."

Karen was excited to work on the city council corruption story he gave her, but as she walked home, she wondered if she would end up feeling overwhelmed with things to do. 

On the other hand, she thought, the busier she was, the less time she had to think about things that made her feel guilty. So she embraced the chance to be insanely busy. 

Karen also needed to stop by the grocery store to pick up all the ingredients for the lasagna. It had been a long time since she had made that. It wasn't worth all the work just to make it for herself. 

Once Karen was back home, she immediately started looking into background information for the corruption story. She realized pretty quickly that she was going to miss her office at the Bulletin while doing this work. Still, it did feel good to be doing research for an article again. She was so glad that Ellison was giving her this chance.

As she continued working on the article, the night flew by, and Karen didn't spend any more time thinking about her guilt. She decided that she would just continue to stay very busy from now on. Then she wouldn't have to spend any more time thinking about her brother or Wesley or Ben or her coworkers at the Bulletin or Father Lantom. 

She just needed to make sure she had every hour filled. And with that thought, she headed to bed so that she could get up early to do some more research and make some lasagna.

* * *

When the alarm went off, Karen was confused at first and thought she had to go to the office. Then she realized that she had gotten up early so that she could get some more research in for the Bulletin story and then make the lasagna for Foggy, Marci, and Matt.

She was actually going to have guests for dinner.

When was the last time she had guests for dinner? She honestly couldn't remember. In fact, she didn't even have any really nice china. Her mom had always brought out the nice china when she had guests over. She remembered helping her mother out with cooking and then setting the table with her brother.

That familiar flash of sadness hit as she thought about Kevin, but she quickly put him out of her mind as she focused on her work and then on making the lasagna.

Several hours later, Foggy and Marci arrived.

"Congratulations!" Karen said, giving both Foggy and Marci a hug.

Karen remembered how she hadn't liked Marci much when she first met her, but she had really been growing to like her more and more as she had been getting to know her. Marci and Foggy were perfect together.

"Thank you," Marci said as she walked into Karen's apartment. "I hadn't seen your apartment before. It's nice."

"Thank you," Karen said as she shut the door.

"So Matt isn't here yet?" Foggy said. 

Karen shook her head, but then the buzzer rang. 

"It's me," Matt said over the intercom.

Karen buzzed him up, realizing that the last time he had been in her apartment, he had come in through the window. She had been so furious with him for making her and Foggy think he was dead, but she had also been so relieved and grateful to discover he was alive. 

Of course, she had never fully allowed herself to believe he was dead, though she had been starting to think that Foggy might be right about her being stuck in the denial stage of grief. 

But then Foggy had told her about seeing Matt, and now she was seeing him practically every day. She was determined not to let their friendship fall apart again.

"Hey Matt," Karen said as she opened the door.

"Hey Karen," Matt said as he walked in with a bottle of wine. "That lasagna smells amazing."

Karen raised an eyebrow. "You brought wine?"

"Don't worry, it was cheap," Matt said.

"Aw, the cheap stuff," Karen said with a smile. That brought back memories of their first date in the Indian restaurant, the lights, the curry, the kiss on her doorstep ...

"Well, we should probably eat before the lasagna gets cold," Karen said quickly as she rushed back to the kitchen. 

Kissing Matt was another thing she really didn't need to focus on.

As everyone sat down, Karen brought over the lasagna. 

"It looks just as delicious as last time," Foggy said.

"So when did you make lasagna for these guys, Karen?" Marci asked. 

"It was when we first met," Karen said. "Matt and Foggy got me out of jail when Fisk had me framed for murder. If it wasn't for them, I would probably still be locked up. Or dead. So I pretty much owed them my life. I thought the least I could do was make lasagna for them."

"And it's still filled with virtue," Matt said with a smile.

Karen smiled, too. "Yes, it is."

Marci frowned. "Filled with virtue?"

"Oh, my grandmother made me promise only to serve it to my future husband, so I told Matt and Foggy that it was filled with virtue," Karen said.

"Well, you're serving it to my future husband, if that counts," Marci said, smiling at Foggy. She turned back to Karen. "Although I guess you might be serving it to your future husband, too."

Marci was gesturing toward Matt. Karen felt her cheeks flush and cleared her throat. She needed to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"So, what are you two planning to do for your engagement party?" Karen asked, turning to Foggy and Marci.

"Nothing too fancy," Foggy said. "We're just going to have some family and friends over to our apartment."

"And it's going to be catered," Marci said. "There's no way we're cooking for that many people."

The rest of the dinner went by quickly. They mostly chatted about work and wedding plans for Marci and Foggy. The cheap wine Matt had brought over turned out to be pretty good. 

As they were all leaving, Matt turned to Karen. "The lasagna was really good, Karen. Thank you for having us over."

"Yes, thank you," Foggy said as he put on his coat.

"Oh, no problem," Karen said. "I'm glad you all liked the lasagna."

Karen was a bit annoyed at how fast her heart was beating, especially considering she knew that Matt could hear it. It seemed a bit unfair. She had no idea if Matt's heart was doing the same thing. Either way, though, it didn't matter. That was something Karen wasn't planning to pursue again. They were just friends. 

"Well, thank you all for coming," Karen said, opening the door. 

After they all headed out the door, Karen sighed. She needed to get those thoughts of Matt out of her head. 

Work. Work was what she needed. With that, Karen sat down to spend the rest of the weekend working on her Bulletin story.


	5. Chapter 5

As Karen woke up on Monday, she sighed as she realized what day it was. 

It was her father's birthday. 

It was one of the few days that she always called him, but he never sounded like he really wanted to talk to her. Still, it was one of the few times she talked to him at all. 

Her last conversation with him ran through her head, bringing tears to her eyes. He didn't even want her to come home after that horrible night at the Bulletin. She could have died, and he still didn’t want her there.

Karen wiped her eyes. She wanted to be composed when she called him. She took a deep breath and opened her contacts. She stared at "Dad" for a moment before pressing it.

The phone kept ringing. That was unusual. Usually her dad expected a call from her, so he picked up right away. 

Finally his voice mail picked up. "Hi Dad, it's Karen. Happy birthday! Call me back when you get a chance."

Karen bit her lip, staring at her phone for a moment. She hoped her dad was okay. 

Then she looked at the time. She needed to get to work. She hoped her dad would call her back soon.

By the time she got to work, though, he still hadn't called her back. As she walked into the office, she remembered that Foggy had said he would be in late. Matt was there ahead of her this morning.

"Good morning," Karen said quickly before heading to her desk. She logged into her computer and hoped that her work would keep her mind off of her dad. She tried not to stare at her phone.

"Karen, what's wrong?"

Sigh. Of course he knew. Matt always knew.

"It's nothing," Karen said. "I mean, it's not nothing. It's just..."

Karen couldn't bring herself to talk about it. It was just too hard right now.

Matt took her hands in his. "Your hands are shaking," he said softly.

Karen nodded. She remembered when she would have thought she had to say what she was doing, but now, of course, she knew that Matt could sense it.

They stayed like that in silence for a few moments. Matt's hands felt warm on hers. Her hands had already stopped shaking.

Finally Karen took a deep breath and spoke. "I call my dad on his birthday every year. He didn't pick up right away this morning. I left a message, but he still hasn't called me back. It's always an awkward conversation, and it's only a few minutes before he finds an excuse to go, but it's one of the few times I talk to him. And I'm just...I'm worried. If he had a heart attack or something, would anybody be there to help him?"

Matt moved one of his hands to Karen's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I'm sure he'll call back soon."

Karen nodded again. "I suppose I should get back to work."

"If you're feeling up to it," Matt said. "If you want to take the rest of the day off, though, I'm sure we'll be okay. We're not that busy today."

Karen shook her head. "I think it might be good for me to work. It might get my mind off of Dad. I'm sure he's fine. He just doesn't care that much if he hears from me."

"I'm sure that's not true," Matt said. "How could he not want to hear from his daughter?"

"Well, he's never forgiven me for Kevin. I don't blame him. really."

"Because you've never forgiven yourself? Karen, I wish there was a way I could help you do that."

"I don't deserve forgiveness, though," Karen said, tears coming to her eyes.

Matt leaned forward and gave Karen a hug. "Yes, you do," he whispered.

They stayed like that for several moments, just holding each other.

Karen's mind was brought back to another time, years ago, another hug. Matt seemed so distraught, though she didn't really know why at the time. She had thought it was whatever was going on between him and Foggy. She didn't really understand what had happened between them then, just that these two best friends who had come to mean so much to her were fighting with each other, and she had been worried the cozy group they had formed might be over. She thought that was what was causing Matt's pain, but it hadn't really matched his words: "I can't do this alone."

She hadn't asked what he meant by that; she had just given him a hug and told him he wasn't alone. Now, of course, she knew that it all had to do with his fight as Daredevil, that his stand against Fisk was much more than it appeared. Then, though, she was just there for him in whatever way she could be, just like Matt was here for her now. 

Finally, they pulled away from each other, and Karen wiped her eyes.

"Thank you," Karen said. "You know, I appreciate that you're here for me."

"We're here for each other," Matt said. "You've been there for me many times when I didn't deserve it."

"I guess it's about what we need, not what we deserve," Karen said.

Her phone rang, and she quickly took it out of her pocket. She felt relief as she saw her father's number.

"Dad? Are you okay?" she asked as she answered.

"Yes, I'm fine Karen," her dad said. "I would have called you back earlier, but I was busy."

“Yes, of course, you were busy," Karen said, a little bitterness creeping into her voice.

"I've met someone," her dad said.

Karen raised an eyebrow. "You've met someone? A girlfriend?"

"Yeah, I guess it's getting pretty serious now," her dad said. "Of course I'll never feel the same way about anyone as I did about your mother, but still, it's nice."

Karen sniffled a little. "Yeah, that's great Dad. I'm happy for you."

"Well, I should be going. Thank you for wishing me a happy birthday, though."

"Right," Karen said. "Happy Birthday, Dad."

Karen sighed as she hung up the phone. "Apparently he met someone and he was busy."

Matt frowned. "Well, I'm glad he's okay. He should have called you back sooner, though."

"Yeah, well, I'm not that high of a priority for him now."

Matt sighed. 'You know, why don't we grab some breakfast somewhere? Maybe try that new place down the street? We have plenty of time before our next client is supposed to get here."

Karen smiled. "Sure, that sounds great."

Karen grabbed her jacket, and they headed down to the little restaurant on the corner. There were only a few seats, but they were able to get a table.

"It's been awhile since I went out to breakfast," Karen said as she looked at the menu.

"Yeah, same here," Matt said.

Karen had finally decided on the French toast as the server came over to take their orders and pour some coffee in their cups. 

Karen took a sip. "They have good coffee here."

"They do," Matt agreed. "I'm glad your dad is okay."

"Yeah, me too," Karen said softly.

"I'm sorry that he doesn't talk to you more," Matt said. "That's hard for me to understand, really. You're his daughter."

Karen shrugged. "Well, he hasn't forgiven me for Kevin's death. I'm not sure he ever will, to be honest. I get it, though."

"Well," Matt said, "you can't make your father forgive you, but you can still forgive yourself."

The server came over with their orders, and Karen was silent for a few minutes as she dug into her French toast. 

"I'm just not sure I deserve it," Karen said finally. "It's not even just my brother. So many people have died because of me. Ben, Father Lantom..."

"Their deaths weren't your fault, Karen," Matt said. "Fisk did that, not you."

"I know," Karen said with a sigh. "But I just feel like ... cursed, or something. Like I’ve done too many bad things, so more bad things just keep happening around me.”

"Yeah, I get it," Matt said. "I feel that way too sometimes."

"Yeah, Sister Maggie said something like that," Karen said.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "When did you talk to Sister Maggie?"

Karen took a last bite of her French toast. "Last week. I talk to her once in awhile. She's a good listener."

"Yeah, she is," Matt agreed. “I'm glad that you have someone to talk to."

"I'm glad you do, too," Karen said.

"You know, Karen, you're so hard on yourself about what happened to your brother. But if a young woman came into our firm with a case just like yours, you would help her. And you wouldn't judge her. You would tell her that she had made a mistake, but that she should forgive herself, wouldn't you?"

Karen thought about it for a few minutes. It was true. She would empathize with someone else in her situation. Nelson and Murdock and now Nelson, Murdock, and Page regularly helped people who had just made a mistake turn their lives around.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Matt," Karen said.

Matt smiled. "You're a really compassionate person, Karen. It's one of the things I love most about you. I hope you can learn to be compassionate toward yourself, too."

Before Karen could respond, her phone vibrated, as did Matt's.

"Oh, Foggy's back in the office and wondering where we are," Karen said. "I guess we should be getting back."

Matt nodded, and they paid for their food and headed back to their office. 

As they walked, Karen thought about what Matt had said. He was right. It was time for her to start working on compassion for herself.


	6. Chapter 6

Karen couldn't believe it was Friday already. The week had gone by so fast.

They had picked up more cases, and Melvin Potter had agreed to let them represent him. Karen had been busy with investigating for the cases during the day and working on her article for the Bulletin in the evening. 

And now it was almost time for Foggy and Marci's engagement party.

"Oh, by the way, the party's going to be a little bigger than I thought it would be," Foggy said as he got ready to leave.

"How much bigger?" Karen asked.

"Well, we're going to have about 30 people," Foggy said.

"That definitely sounds like more than a few friends and family," Matt said. "Are all your cousins coming?"

Foggy laughed. "No, although several are. And I invited Ellison and his family, too," Foggy said.

"You did?" Karen said, surprised.

"Yeah, we chatted some at the funeral, and Marci and I decided to invite him," Foggy said. "We also invited Sister Maggie."

"You did?" Matt said.

"Yep, so we will have plenty of people in our apartment this evening," Foggy said. "And Matt, I hope you can manage to stay the whole time. We will only have an engagement party once."

"I promise I will stay the whole time," Matt said. 

"Good," Foggy said. "Well, I better get going and get ready for the party. I'll see you guys at 7."

Foggy hustled out the door.

Karen grabbed her coat. Matt was still working on something. "Well, I suppose I better get ready, too. See you in a little bit, Matt."

"Yep," Matt said, distracted.

"What is it?" Karen asked. "What are you working on?"

"Oh, I just want to make sure we're ready to argue Melvin's case on Monday," Matt said. "I was just going over everything again."

Karen smiled. "Matt, I'm sure you guys will do great."

"Yeah, I just want to make sure I never let you guys down again," Matt said. 

Karen put her hand on Matt's shoulder. "Matt, I have full confidence that you will not let us down. Things are different now."

Matt smiled. "Yeah, thanks, Karen."

"No problem. See you at Foggy and Marci's party."

As Karen headed home, she realized that this was the second Friday in a row she was a guest in a friend's home.

She thought about how lonely she had been when she first came to New York. Now she actually had quite a few friends, and more and more, New York truly felt like home. Her apartment was starting to feel like home. That was the first time since she had left Fagan Corners that she could say that. 

Karen was ready for the party well before she needed to leave. She took the extra time to write questions for the people she would need to interview for her story. 

Then Karen headed over to Foggy's, enjoying the nice evening weather as she walked. She loved how many restaurants and shops she would pass as she walked in New York. A walk in Fagan Corners usually just took her past lawns and houses. There wasn't much of a downtown there. She wondered again what her mom would think of her living here now. Would she be proud of her? She hoped so. 

When Karen knocked on the door, Marci answered. 

"Looking sharp, Karen. I like the dress."

"Thank you, Marci. You look nice, too."

"Oh, I know." Marci smiled and moved aside so Karen could come in.

Foggy was talking to his brother. He waved at Karen. She waved back and looked around. She had only met a few of Foggy's family members. She imagined several of these people were cousins. 

There was another knock on the door, and Sister Maggie walked in. She smiled and walked over to Karen.

"Hello Karen."

"Hi Sister Maggie. It was nice of you to come."

"It was very nice of Foggy and Marci to invite me. I see that Matthew isn't here yet."

"Well, he promised to stay the whole time, but he didn't promise not to get here fashionably late," Karen said.

Right after she said that, there was another knock on the door. Matt walked in and let Marci lead him over to Karen and Sister Maggie. Karen wondered how it felt to have to act like he didn't already know exactly where they were. As much as Karen used to keep secrets, it wasn't quite the same as having to live that secret so much of the time. At least he no longer had to do that around Foggy and Karen.

"Hey Matt," Karen said.

"Hello Matthew," Sister Maggie said.

Yet another knock on the door, and Ellison walked in with his wife and nephew. Karen felt her cheeks flush. She hoped that Ellison didn't bring him along to try to set them up on a date again. 

"Hi Karen, Matt, Sister Maggie," Ellison said. "You all know my wife, Lily. Karen you've met my nephew, Jason. Jason, this is Matt Murdock and Sister Maggie."

Everybody shook hands. 

"How's your cat?" Karen asked Jason.

He smiled. "Oh, Ralph is great. He still shows absolutely no writing prowess, though he did somehow manage to jump up to the top of the high bookshelf. Maybe I should have named him Daredevil instead of Ralph."

Karen laughed, feeling awkward, and saw that Matt almost spit out his drink while Sister Maggie just smiled.

"Hey everyone! Thank you all for coming!" Foggy had just walked over to them. "I promise there will be food. Sorry it hasn't arrived yet. The caterer is running late."

"Well, there's plenty of alcohol, that's what matters," Karen said. 

"Marci can make a mean martini," Foggy said. 

"Believe it or not, I have never had a martini," Karen said.

"Wait, did I hear that right?" Marci had just walked over to stand beside Foggy. "Karen Page has never had a martini?"

Karen laughed. "Nope. I usually just order beer or whiskey."

Marci shook her head. "Well, that has to be rectified at once. I have to show you what you have been missing. Foggy-bear, come give me a hand."

"Sorry guys, I'll be back," Foggy said.

"We'll be fine, Foggy-bear," Matt said, smirking.

"Shut up, Matt," Foggy said, though he was laughing with the rest of them. 

Ellison and Jason walked over to Lily, who was now in a conversation with one of Foggy's cousins.

"So, you and Ellison's nephew seem to know each other pretty well," Matt said.

Karen felt her face flush again. "Oh, Ellison invited me over to dinner one time and tried to set me up with Jason."

"Oh, did you go out with him?" Matt was clearly trying and failing to appear nonchalant.

Karen smiled. "No, I didn't. I told Ellison I wasn't ready."

"Aw."

"Why?"

"No reason, just curious," Matt said. "Okay, that was a lie. You know, Karen, I've been thinking ...."

Marci chose that moment to bring over Karen's martini. "Here you go. You will no longer be a martini virgin after this night."

Karen laughed. "Okay. Here goes."

She took a few sips. "Not bad. Not bad at all, Marci."

"Soon, you'll be ordering martinis every time," Marci said. 

"Oh, I don't know about that," Karen said. "I think I still prefer the cheap stuff. But thank you for the martini, Marci."

Marci shook her head. 

They all laughed, and Karen continued to sip the martini. It was pretty good, but she had gotten used to cheap wine, beer, and whiskey when she first started drinking, so it's just what she came home to.

Then Karen remembered that Matt had been trying to tell her something. 

"Matt, what were you going to tell me before?" Karen asked. 

Matt's cheeks turned a bit pink. "Well, it's just ... I've been thinking ... I'll completely understand if you're not interested considering what a disaster it was last time, but I was wondering if you might consider trying a date again sometime?"

Matt looked as nervous as Karen had ever seen him. She was actually a bit surprised. She wasn't sure if Matt was still interested in her in that way. It was a good question, though. Considering what a disaster their short relationship was last time, did Karen want to risk the friendship they had now? What if it just created a mess again?

"Hey everyone," Foggy said loudly above the din. "Marci and I just wanted to thank you all for coming to our engagement party."

"As you can see, the food has finally arrived," Marci said, gesturing to all the food set out on a table. Karen hadn't even noticed its arrival. "So you all can eat now. And we have plenty of drinks, including my famous martinis, which some people, at least, appreciate."

Karen and Matt laughed. 

"Well, you can't help that you prefer the cheap stuff," Matt said.

"Yes," Karen said.

"Yes, you prefer the cheap stuff?"

"No, well, yes, I do, but I meant that yes, I would be willing to try a date sometime," Karen said. "Not right away, though, maybe after we get settled with the firm a bit more."

Matt smiled. "Yeah, definitely not right away. I'm just happy you're willing to consider going out with me again after what happened last time."

"Yeah, well, like you said, things are different now," Karen said. "I think it might be worth giving it another shot."

There was a knock on the door, and Brett Mahoney walked in. 

"Brett, you decided to come!" Foggy said. "And just in time for the food."

"Well, looks like I got here at the right time then," Brett said.

Sister Maggie walked over to Karen and Matt. "So, have you two been having a good evening?"

"Yes," Matt said, "and I followed your advice."

Karen turned to Maggie. "Oh, you're the one who recommended Matt ask me out?"

"Well, as my first time playing matchmaker like that, clearly I have done pretty well," Sister Maggie said.

Karen and Matt laughed. The rest of the night flew by with food, drinks, and a little music, and Karen felt happier than she had in a long time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter. Thank you for reading!

The weeks had gone by so quickly. Nelson, Murdock, and Page had plenty of cases, and they were starting to look for a new office. They had won Melvin's case, and he had made Matt a new suit. And Karen's story was now on the front page of the Bulletin.

"Wow, I don't know how you do it, Karen," Foggy said as he held up the newspaper. "You must spend so much time working. What about your social life?"

"Well, we're going to Josie's after work," Karen said. "Does that count?"

"I'm not sure that counts since it's just with me and Matt," Foggy said.

"Well, it's good enough," Karen said.

"I'm glad to know we're good enough," Matt said with a smile.

Karen smiled, too. Now that they were more settled in to the firm, Karen was starting to think it might be time to take Matt up on the dinner offer. They could always just take things really slow, and if the date didn't work out, they wouldn't have another one. And this time, they would let Foggy know ahead of time as well.

"Anyway, I'm done with that story now, so I will have a bit more time for a social life," Karen said.

Matt smiled again. "That's good to hear."

Foggy looked back and forth between them. "Have I missed something here? Are you two dating again?"

"Well, not really yet ..." Karen started.

"No ... I mean, not yet ... " Matt began.

Foggy shook his head. "Can't you two just give a yes or no answer?" 

Their last case of the day walked in then, putting their discussion on hold. Once they were done, they headed to Josie's.

"By the way, Marci is going to be joining us at Josie's," Foggy said.

"Oh really?" Karen said, surprised. "I didn't think Josie made martinis."

"Yeah, I'm having a tough time picturing Josie making martinis, too," Matt said.

"Believe it or not, she actually did make one for Marci," Foggy said. "Marci didn't like it very much, though."

"I'm surprised that she was willing to come back," Karen said.

"She said she wanted to give it one more chance since I love it so much," Foggy said. 

"Maybe we should convince her to order a whiskey," Matt said. "Can't go wrong with whiskey."

"I don't think that Marci is really that into whiskey," Foggy said. "A beer would probably be best. It's nice that she's giving Josie's another chance anyway."

Marci was standing outside of Josie's when they got there. "I figure I'll let you order for me, Foggy bear. That way I don't have to deal with that woman being rude to me again."

"Josie?" Karen said. "I don't think she's ever been rude to me before."

"Well, she was rude to me," Marci said.

"Like I told you before, Marci, you just need to ask nicely," Foggy said. "And I will ask Josie nicely for a beer for you just to demonstrate it."

Karen and Matt both laughed.

"Hello Josie," Foggy said. "I would like two beers please."

Josie frowned a bit at Marci but brought the two beers.

"Thank you," Foggy said. "See? That wasn't so bad."

"She still doesn't like me, though," Marci said, as Foggy handed her the beer. Foggy just shook his head.

Karen and Matt both ordered then, and they all sat down at a table. 

"Well, I'm glad you're giving Josie's another chance, Marci," Karen said. 

"I guess it's not so bad when I don't order the martini," Marci said. 

"For what it's worth, I'm glad you made my first martini," Karen said. 

"Yes, at least you can say you've finally had a martini," Marci said. "It was seriously a crime you never had one before."

"I still prefer a whiskey neat," Matt said.

"Yes, I know," Marci said. "None of you appreciates a martini as much as me."

"Well, at least I've had one now," Karen said. "Before, I couldn't even say if I liked one. It was better than I thought it would be, which I'm sure is a credit to you, Marci."

"Yes, Marci's martinis are the best," Foggy said with a smile at Marci.

"I'm just so happy we're back here together at Josie's," Matt said. 

"Me too," Karen said, smiling at Matt. 

He smiled back at her, and her heart skipped a beat. It was definitely time to go on that date. 

The night chatting at Josie's went by quickly, and before Karen knew it, they were heading up to the bar to pay.

Foggy looked through his wallet. "Hey Josie, any chance we can open up a tab again?"

Josie shrugged. "I guess."

"Really? Thanks, Josie!" Foggy said.

"Thanks, Josie!" Karen and Matt said at the same time.

"Yeah, yeah." Josie resumed cleaning a glass. "You better make it worth it. I expect you back here on a regular basis."

"You know we'll be back here all the time, Josie," Matt said with a smile.

"Definitely," Karen agreed.

"You can count on us, Josie," Foggy said. "Thanks again!"

"Well, I guess she must not hate me too much," Marci said. "She was willing to open up a tab for you again."

"Yes, she was," Foggy said, giving Marci a quick kiss.

Marci smiled at him. Karen watched them for a moment. They seemed so happy together. She was so glad that they had found each other, and that they had given each other another chance.

And now it was time to give her and Matt another chance. 

"Hey Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"So ... about that date..."

Matt looked nervous. "Did you change your mind?"

Karen smiled. "No, Matt, I didn't change my mind. I was thinking we could go out to dinner this week, maybe even tomorrow?"

Matt flashed a wide smile. "Really? Where would you like to go?"

"Hmmm...well, no place fancy. We need access to the cheap stuff after all. I was thinking of a little Mexican place that my neighbor owns. It just opened a month ago."

Matt smiled again. "That sounds great. " 

Karen smiled and gave Matt a quick kiss. "See you tomorrow, Mr. Murdock."

"I can't wait, Miss Page."

Karen couldn't stop smiling on the cab ride home. As much as she had been questioning whether this would be a good idea before, she just knew this was right. She felt like it might finally be the right time for her and Matt.

* * *

As Karen was getting ready for her date the next evening, she felt a little nervous. As sure as she was that this was the right thing to do, she still worried that something could go wrong. After all, they certainly had a history of that.

When she saw Matt standing by the restaurant, though, all her nervousness vanished. 

He smiled. "Hey."

Karen smiled back. "Hey."

"Well, the food smells amazing," Matt said. 

"Yeah, I've already had the tacos and fajitas from here, and they were both great," Karen said.

"Ooh, I haven't had fajitas in a long time," Matt said. " I will have to try those."

As they walked in, Karen had to admit that Matt was right about the smell of the food. She was hungry almost as soon as she walked in. They both ended up ordering fajitas. 

"I'm going to go wild and get a margarita, too," Karen said. "One of those big ones. You'll have to have some of it too. There's no way I can drink all of that." 

Matt laughed. "I suppose I would be willing to have some of your giant margarita. You're trying new drinks lately. Martinis and now margaritas. So much for the cheap stuff."

"Well, it's on sale," Karen said. "Half off today."

"True," Matt said. "Well, it's the best time to try it then."

"I think so, too," Karen said as the server brought the huge margarita over to the table along with chips and salsa. Karen laughed. "Wow, that's big."

Matt laughed, too. "It really is. I guess we better get started on it or we'll never finish it."

'It's a good thing the server brought two straws," Karen said.

There was none of the awkwardness of their first date at the fancy restaurant. It was just a fun evening with fajitas and the giant margarita. The food was great, and before Karen knew it, Matt was walking her home. 

"That was fun," Matt said. "I can't imagine any one person drinking that whole margarita."

Karen laughed. "No, me neither. Thank you for sharing it with me. I can't imagine how drunk I would be if I drank it all by myself."

"And you can tell your neighbors that their restaurant has fantastic food," Matt said.

"I will be sure to tell them," Karen said as they arrived at her apartment building. "So, I should say that I would like to take things very slow. I really want things to work out this time."

"Me too," Matt said. "I think that's a good idea. So ... would you like to do this again in a few days? Maybe we could get some curry?"

Karen smiled. "I would love that."

Matt smiled. "Then it's a date. Now would it be alright if I kissed you?"

"Mmm ... I suppose it would be alright," Karen said with a smile.

As Matt brushed his lips against hers, Karen felt the same electricity she had felt during their first kiss. It was over far too fast.

"We'll have to continue that next time," Karen said.

"Definitely," Matt said with a smile. "Good night, Karen."

"Good night, Matt."

As Karen watched Matt hail a cab, she thought about the past several weeks. After all the struggles and grief, she was finally getting the new beginning she had been hoping for for so long. A new career with Nelson, Murdock, and Page. Still able to do some writing for the Bulletin. And now, she truly felt good about the promise of this relationship with Matt.

Karen smiled as she headed back into her apartment. Things were definitely looking up. It felt so good to smile again.

This new beginning was exactly what she had needed all along.


End file.
